reunited at last
by Stormjade
Summary: It's been a year since Ichiro and Aki saw each other. They've been together since they were born. How are they doing apart?


**there are two fics in this section. just TWO JENFWOJNEVOWNEOVWMRDV OKWRBA;OENG;VERN**

**no that's not allowed sO I WROTE ANOTHER**

**MY FAV PAIR IN DA SHOW TOO BAD IT'LL NEVER BE CANON LIKE EVER**

**let's say this is their second winter at Yezo High.**

* * *

Aki leaned back in her chair, sighing heavily and stretching out her back. She looked over at her roommates, studying next to her.

"I'm going to go to sleep, so good night!"  
"Good night!"  
"Mhmm, good night!"

The short haired girl gathered up her books and climbed into bed eagerly, tired and weary. She lay on her side, facing the wall and pulled the covers up to her shoulders, embracing the comforter's warmth. As she was slowly drifting off to dreamland, a thought hit her.

_I haven't seen Ichiro for a year._

Her chest contorted painfully as she thought about her childhood friend. They had known each other for as long as they could remember. Their families were close for generations, and the two infants were together since they came back from the hospital. They had always gone to school together until he had to get a job near the end of their first year.

She thought she was already over his departure.

_I guess not..._

In her defense, they had seen each other much less than she thought they would. Aki had thought she wouldn't miss him that much, since he did live right beside her. But, whenever she visited the Komaba's home, he was always off at work or resting. They had called each other almost every week, but for an entire year she hadn't seen him face-to-face.

It was true that she loved Hachiken, but Hachiken was no Ichiro. If her life was a cake, Ichiro would be the plate and Hachiken would be the chocolate decorations on top of the cake. The decorations were what made the cake beautiful and enjoyable, and it added something new and different to make that cake distinguishable from the rest. But if you think about it, you don't really need the decorations.

Aki had always taken Ichiro's presence for granted. She had become so used to having him around, she never realized how much she needed him. It's not like you can eat cake without a plate. It's just going to fall and get messy and become ruined.

A year without him. A year without that scowling face that softened when they were alone. A year without the strong arms that wouldn't ever hesitate to help her. A year without the deep voice that she had gotten so used to. It had been too long.

She remembered the night after they lost the semifinal. He had promised to visit her home and she made sure to say her goodbyes properly. She remembered how she hugged him before he walked away. How she wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed her nose into his strong jaw and ran her fingers through his cropped hair. He smelled like milk, like he always did.

Ichiro had embraced her tightly in return, holding her with a kind of fierce determination that Aki had only seen in Ichiro. Their embrace had only lasted a moment, but it was a moment she knew she'd remember forever.

A small sob escaped her, and before she knew it she was crying. She burrowed under the covers and tried to stifle her loud crying, but it was too late, her roommates had noticed.

"Aki? What's wrong?"

The girl sat up in her bed a wiped her tears away.

"O-oh, Mayumi, it's nothing, don't worry about it."  
"You're crying though..."  
"Don't worry about it! I...there's nothing wrong."  
"Aki..."

Women's intuition told the pigtailed girl not to pry, but that didn't mean she couldn't help her friend. Mayumi walked over to her bag and pulled out a thermos, unscrewed the top and handed it to the sniffling girl.

"It's warm milk. I keep it with me in case I can't sleep. Warm milk helps people relax and sleep better."  
"...thank you, Mayumi."

Aki forced a smile under her tears and she took a gulp of the milk and let it run down her throat. The bland, yet appetizing taste of the milk sent memories of Ichiro hurtling through her mind. She handed the thermos back to Mayumi with trembling fingers and buried her face in her hands, weeping harder than she thought she could.

_Ichiro..._

* * *

He opened his eyes to find Aki standing in front of him, smiling.

"Aki? What are you doing here?"

She just smiled back at him.

Ichiro looked around, trying to get a grasp of his surroundings. He could only see fog.

_It must be a dream..._

He looked back at Aki, taking a step forward.

_I haven't seen her for a year._

Suddenly, she turned on her heels, sprinting away from him.

"Wait! Aki!"

He trailed after her. Even though he was much more athletic and his legs were much longer, he couldn't catch up to her.

_Damn..._

She disappeared into the mist. Suddenly, a gale swept in and cleared the fog. He raised his arms to protect himself from the piercing winds.

He found Aki struggling to keep a hot air balloon on the ground. Her small body was being whipped around and the balloon was lifting.

Grabbing the rope dangling from the basket, Ichiro looked at his hands. His eyes widened when he saw that they were coated in metal. A quick check of his arms and legs told him that his entire body was now made of iron.

Using his dense form to his advantage, he anchored the balloon to the ground, gaining a grateful smile to the exhausted looking Aki.

The wind started blowing flowers their way. These delicate flowers seemed to be parts of one being, and assembled themselves like a mecha.

A male figure, made of soft flowers, stood before them. He opened his eyes and Ichiro recognized him as Hachiken.

Hachiken smiled at Ichiro, and swiftly lifted Aki into the basket of the balloon.

"Hey! Don't do that! It's dangerous!"

Ichiro's shouts were lost in the wind.

Hachiken roped an anchor onto his shoulders. Surprisingly, Hachiken didn't crumple under the weight.

Rain started to pour down harder than Ichiro had ever seen.

With the anchor securely tied onto him, Hachiken latched onto the side of the basket. He smiled again at Ichiro, and leaned over the basket.

The rope started to loosen from Ichiro's fingers.

Hachiken placed a kiss on Aki's lips.

Ichiro tried to grasp the rope again, but it snaked away from him as the balloon rose higher and higher.

"No! **Wait! DON'T LEAVE ME!**"

Again, his anguished cries were drowned out.

The heavy anchor tore Hachiken's delicate body apart.

Ichiro screamed himself hoarse as he saw his friend's body rip and shed blood from unseen veins.

Thankfully, another gust of wind blew the rope back into Ichiro's hands.

The balloon stopped rising.

Ichiro sighed in relief. He could see Aki crying in the basket of the balloon.

He tried to pull the balloon the ground, but found that his body had completely rusted over.

He couldn't move, couldn't speak, could only gaze at Aki, mourning alone.

The storm calmed.

Aki shouted down at him.

"Ichiro! Ichiro, can you hear me! ICHIRO! _ICHIRO!_ **_ICHIRO!_**"

He could only stare.

* * *

Ichiro's eyes snapped open.

"Ichiro! _Ichiro! _Why are you sleeping?"

His older coworker at the ski resort, Takashi, was offering him a cup of tea.

"Ichiro! You must be tired, if you're snoozing off during lunch. Here, some tea."

He looked around blearily. His other coworkers were staring at him with worried looks.

_That was the scariest nightmare I've had in a while..._

He accepted the warm mug gratefully, ignoring the stares. Ichiro gazed into the pale green liquid, recalling the pain and regret of one year ago, when he had dropped out. Although his dreams were usually random, it felt like that dream held meaning behind it.

He took a sip of the tea. Green tea had always reminded Ichiro of Aki. Aki was always drinking it, especially when they were kids. Whenever the two would "adventure" into the woods or have a small picnic or play house, Aki would always have a bottle of green tea with her. Ichiro would usually have milk.

For a long time, she was his only friend. Up until middle school, he didn't like talking with other people and only interacted with his classmates when they were playing baseball. Yet, he felt so comfortabel in Aki's presence. She did have other friends, though, so Ichiro was usually alone.

He had meant to visit her more often, he really did. But he got promoted at the ski resort and he started working there full-time, and the time he had for himself just started diminishing. Everyday, when he came home, he just shuffled into his room and slept until dinner. His hands had permanent calluses and were pocked with scars. Before he knew it, a year had passed without her.

Ichiro took another sip.

_I wonder what she's doing now..._

He sighed heavily, picturing her gentle smile. Even when they had become less close, that smile still consoled him. Her voice had become the voice of encouragement in his life, and just standing next to her relaxed him. Her memory motivated him. He worked hard to pay off his debt and send his sisters to college, but also to redeem himself in the Mikage's eyes, especially Aki. He found it hard to face the family after the trouble he had caused for them. No matter how much they reassured him, saying how it really didn't matter, it was still a stain on his honor.

Thinking about her always made him realize _how much_ he missed her. How much he wanted to see her smile and hear her speak again. He never thought he'd have to leave her side. They'd been in the same class every year since they started going to school. It felt so foreign, not seeing her everyday.

_I just want to see Aki again._

"...Ichiro?"

He looked at Takashi.

"What is it?"  
"You're...crying."

Ichiro felt his face in disbelief.

_I hadn't even realized it..._

He quickly wiped the tears away and turned back to his tea, embarrassed that Takashi had seen him cry. Ichiro hadn't even cried at his dad's funeral. He felt like an idiot for crying at work. And right after he was caught sleeping, too!

"Ichiro, take the rest of the day off. And tomorrow, too."  
"What?"  
"Go. Go rest. Get some sleep. Or solve whatever you were just crying over."  
"No, I can't. I have to work."  
"I'll take your next shift, don't worry. I'll sort it out with the boss."  
"No."  
"Listen, Ichiro, you're too damn young to be here, working like you're twenty five instead of seventeen. Go enjoy yourself. You're still a kid."  
"I still have to do this. It's my duty."  
"I'm just telling you to take some time off, okay?"

Ichiro sighed. A break did look tempting...

"Fine. I'll go."  
"Atta boy! Now go live your life."

Ichiro smiled gratefully at him, and turned to leave.

* * *

Aki was walking calmly towards the house. She had just been milking the cows and was ready for a break when she heard the sound of a moped.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

_Ichiro...?_

She ran towards him, tears threatening to escape her. She flung her arms around his neck and he hugged her back, both elated to be reunited again. She seemed to melt into his chest, crying into his shirt and murmuring about how much she missed him. He embraced the feeling of tenderness he felt when she dug her face into his neck, and he murmured back about how much he missed her as well.

They melted apart and just looked at each other, taking in each other carefully. Aki didn't look any different, though her hair had gotten a bit longer. Ichiro didn't look that much different, but Aki noticed dark circles under his eyes.

He smiled warmly at her, she grinned back.

"Aki, do you wanna go see a Ban'ei race? I haven't been to one in forever."  
"Of course! Just the two of us."  
"Hachiken won't mind, right?"  
"He knows what we have is special."

His smile grew wider. They turned, shoulders touching as they walked down the road together. She delicately wrapped her hands around his calloused one. They were being awfully touchy-feely with each other, but they were so happy to see each other that they didn't notice.

A balloon filled their chests, lifting their heart, inflating their lungs with a buoyant contentment. They both turned to look at each other.

Chuckling, the two childhood friends strolled together, livelier than they had been for weeks, reunited at last.


End file.
